Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Huntington Park/Long Beach), an openly gay State Legislator, held a press conference in Long Beach Friday to support the passage of his bill SB1350, the Potty Parity for Parents Act. The bill is the first statewide measure of its kind in the nation that seeks to force businesses and other facilities to spend millions of dollars to ensure that changing babies’ diapers are equally available to both men and women in California.

SB 1350, the Potty Parity for Parents Act, requires a baby changing station to be installed in the men’s restroom if one is being installed in the women’s restroom, or requires a diaper changing station to be included in a family restroom that is available to both men and women.

Senator Ricardo Lara was elected in 2012 to represent the 33rd Senate District, which includes the cities and communities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, Signal Hill, South Gate, South Los Angeles, Vernon, and Walnut Park.

Lara also voted to approve a bill that requires California public K-12 schools to let transgender students choose which restrooms they use and which school teams they join based on their gender identity instead of their chromosomes.

A longtime Assembly staffer, Lara worked as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Marco Antonio Firebaugh (D–South Gate) when Firebaugh served as Majority Leader. Lara later served as Fabian Nuñez’s district director during Nuñez’s time as Speaker. He then served as communications director for Assemblyman Kevin de León (D–Los Angeles), according to Wikipedia.